From UKAthletics.com...
The Kentucky men's basketball program finds itself in
familiar territory under the direction of ninth-year head coach John Calipari.
UK is faced with replacing more than 90 percent of its scoring and 85 percent of
its rebounding, yet a select panel of media voted the Wildcats to win their
fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference regular-season championship. Should
Kentucky achieve that standard, it would mark the sixth regular-season title
under Calipari and the program's 49th overall.
It's the 13th time since the 1998-99 season the Wildcats are the overall
preseason favorite. UK was picked to win the title a season ago and did not
disappoint, winning both the regular-season and tournament title. Calipari has
directed his teams to regular-season SEC crowns in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 and
2017.
Each school selected media members that cover their team and additional media
from across the nation were selected by the conference office to comprise the
voting panel. Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Each media member also voted for two All-SEC teams.
In addition to the preseason poll release, two players were selected to the
preseason All-SEC squads. Freshman Hamidou Diallo was picked to the first team,
while freshman Kevin Knox was tabbed to the second team. Diallo also received at
least one vote for the league's player of the year pick.
Diallo is joined by Florida's junior guard KeVaughn Allen,
Georgia's senior forward Yante Maten, Missouri's freshman forward Michael
Porter, Jr. and Texas A&M's sophomore forward Robert Williams. Maten, Porter and
Williams were voted in a three-way tie for the pick for SEC Player of the Year.
Knox was selected to the second team along with freshman guard Collin Sexton
from Alabama, junior guard Terence Davis and senior guard Deandre Burnett from
Ole Miss, junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon from Mississippi State, junior
center Tyler Davis from Texas A&M and senior guard Matthew Fisher-Davis from
Vanderbilt.
Diallo will enter his first full season with the Wildcats after
spending the spring semester on the Cats' roster. Although he did not see game
action, he has experience in UK's system. Hailed as a top-10 prospect by many
national pundits, Diallo averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists a
game during his senior season at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut. He was a
two-time all-state honoree. This summer he played for Calipari and Team USA at
the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup. He averaged 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18.4
minutes a game for the United States in seven games.
Knox was tabbed the 2017 Mr. Florida Basketball recipient after averaging 28.5
points and 11.3 rebounds per game for Tampa Catholic in Tampa, Florida. He
finished his career with 2,760 career points and led the Crusaders to a
runner-up finish in the state tournament. A consensus top-10 prospect, Knox
averaged 30.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as a junior. He owns Tampa
Catholic's school record with 55 points in a game. A 2017 McDonald's
All-American and Jordan Brand Classic participant, Knox helped lead Team USA to
two gold medals at the 2015 FIBA Americans U16 Championship and the 2016 FIBA
U17 World Cup. A minor hamstring injury forced him to miss the U19 FIBA World
Cup alongside Diallo and classmate PJ Washington.
Kentucky begins its season Friday in the annual Blue-White Game at Rupp Arena at
7 p.m. Tickets for the Blue-White Game are still available. 200-level tickets
are $5. The game will also air live on the SEC Network.